15 Imposing Moby Dick Tattoos

Having captured the essence of the ocean depths most fearsome beast, these Moby Dick tattoos will both inspire and terrify!

There is no whale more famous than Moby Dick, a central character of Herman Melville’s 1851 novel Moby-Dick, this giant whale is both an iconic and terrifying literary creation. A giant white whale Moby Dick only actually appears in the final 3 chapters of the 135-chapter novel but certainly leaves an impression and captures one's imagination. At over 90ft in length, Moby Dick is possibly the largest sperm whale to ever exist and is quite the monster, attacking and destroying those brave enough to try and kill the beast. Predominantly white Moby Dick has “a peculiar snow-white wrinkled forehead, and a high, pyramidical white hump”, he also carries numerous battle scars and has several harpoons embedded in his side, the reminders of previous unsuccessful hunts.

The whiteness and size of Moby Dick are his two most prominent features and are used to symbolize a variety of things from nature and God to evil, fate, ocean and even the very universe itself. Although, the mystery of what Moby Dick represents is part of Melville’s creation as it is up to the reader to interpret their own understanding of what Moby Dick is. Such a mystery only adds to the draw of Moby Dick tattoos as it is up to the individual what their tattoo means. A bold and tremendous tattoo idea Moby Dick tattoos are a powerful tattoo that takes a literary giant and puts it ink along with its fearsome presence.